Notes from a small island

Menu

In Memory of Brother Lionel Pearman

I’ve just been going through the accumulated pile of communal newspapers, and I came across the news that Brother Lionel Pearman, the editor of the BIU’s “The Workers Voice” has died.

I’m shocked. I had no idea.

I had met Brother Lionel a few times, and spoken to him over the phone and through email about writing articles for the Workers Voice. The funny thing is that even though meeting him in person, and speaking with him electronically, I had no idea they were the same person. In person I just knew him as Brother Lionel, I really didn’t put two and two together. I only realised now seeing his photo in the paper.

I didn’t know him very well, but he was always eager to encourage people to write to the Workers Voice, and he published whatever I sent him in the form of letters, be it attacking a Workers Voice columnist or attacking what I saw (and continue to see) as the betrayal of the Progressive Labour Party as a Party of progressive labour and what I percieve to be an all to often uncritical approach of organised labour towards the PLP government in defence of workers interests and a workers platform.

I really feel bad now that I never got around to writing regularly for the paper like he wanted me to do, sort of as another columnist along with Brother Alvin Williams and Sister LaVerne Furbert, as well as a column on science and Bdian natural history and ecology. In a way I guess this blog serves part of that purpose.